1. Technical Field
The present invention broadly relates to a building system. Specifically the present invention is a light weight pre-engineered prefabricated modular building system. Art pertinent to the subject matter of the present invention can be found in various Subclasses of United States Patent Class 52.
2. The Prior Art
Numerable patents have been issued on modular building systems and components used in such systems. For example, many patents have been issued on building trusses. Pomento, U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,104, discloses a wooden truss member intended to connect a column and roof beam. Sheppard, U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,453, discloses a light gauge steel building system and truss design. Wilbanks, U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,160, discloses a truss assembly employing criss-crossed struts extending from a column to a mid point of an opposite rafter. Wormser, U.S. Pat. No. 3,462,895, discloses a symmetrical shelter truss commonly used for pavilions and the like. Davenport, U.S. Pat. No. 4,435,940 discloses a metal building truss employing top and bottom cords made of channel iron material. Funk, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 297,864, discloses a bolt together truss assembly employing channel iron members. Dividoff, U.S. Pat. No. 4,748,784, discloses a triangulated roof truss structure.
Many building systems employ specialized brackets for establishing joints between standardized, dimensional structural members. Brackets formed from sheet metal are popular for joining dimensional lumber. Such brackets are disclosed in Gilb, U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,448 and Southerland, U.S. Pat. No. 4,335,555. Two patents issued to Fritz, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,9041,496 and 4,930,268 disclose building brackets. The former is a two piece roof peak bracket and the latter a two piece post to roof beam bracket. Andrews, U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,192, discloses brackets used to connect structural members with interlocking or indexing shapes. Dufour, U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,387, discloses a prefabricated joint used to join steel trusses and dimensional steel members. McElhoe, U.S. Pat. No. 4,041,659 discloses a metal building structure employing tabs and brackets for securing structural steel members. Hale, U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,480 discloses a set of brackets used to join rafters, at the peak, to the columns and the columns to a supporting surface. Solo, U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,635, discloses a truss support system using a hinged or pivoted connector. Brown, U.S. Pat. No. 3,717,964 discloses a modular building frame system employing indexing tabs and stops to facilitate assembly. Matticks, U.S. Pat. No. 5,293,725 discloses a building comprised of interlocking components which employs few fasteners. Reid, U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,082, discloses a structural frame member. Geraci, U.S. Pat. No. 3,674,589, discloses a trihedrial clip and a variety of uses for the clip in steel frame construction.
The building industry has striven to provide a readily customizable building design. For example, Dean, U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,487, discloses a method for forming a rigid frame for construction.
The present Inventor previously developed a lightweight steel building system that utilized square steel tubing and five-sided ductile iron connectors. These connectors allow tubular structural members to attach from needed directions to create buildings in various sizes and configurations. A company founded by the present Inventor, Erecta Shelters, Inc. of Greenwood, Ark., has sold, designed, manufactured, and erected thousands of buildings using this tubing and ductile iron connector design.
The greatest demand for general purpose buildings is for sizes of fifteen to fifty feet in width, with eight to fourteen foot side wall heights, and lengths from twenty four to sixty feet. A large majority of these buildings are erected by the people who purchase them, not professional builders. This "Do It Yourself" trend is constantly increasing. The "Do It Yourself" portion of the building industry is undoubtedly the fastest growing part of the industry.
There are over one hundred steel building manufacturers in the United States; and customarily, lead time to fabricate a building is five to eight weeks. No manufacturer presently offers a pre-engineered prefabricated building available on the same day that the building is ordered.